Poisonous Plants -- Poison Ivy

POISONOUS PLANTS
If you live in Pennsylvania and spend any amount of time gardening, golfing, hiking, or working in the woods, there's one poisonous plant you should learn to recognize before all others: poison ivy. Sure, there may be other poisonous plants around, but this is the one we've seen the most. The old saying is to beware of any plant with 3 leaves that are shiny... skip the shiny part and beware of any plant with 3 leaves! You may confuse some nonpoisonous 3-leafed plants with poison ivy, but there won't be many. Take a close look at the poison ivy photo below and notice how the 3 leaves are grouped around the end of the stem. Learn to scout woods areas for this plant before walking through. Pretty, but poisonous! This colorful poison ivy vine is growing over the top of a wall at eye level While it's usually best to look down toward the ground for poison ivy, don't forget to look up as well. Since poison ivy is actually a strong growing vine, it commonly climbs up tree trunks and may appear at eye level or much higher. To be on the safe side, take note of any tree trunks with vines on them. Older poison ivy vines tend to have a "hairy" look to them. Brushing against poison ivy with your shoes or clothing will cause the toxic oil from the plant to rub off on you. The oil remains active for quite sometime and can still give you a serious rash hours later when you take off your shoes or handle your contaminated clothing. As a precaution after you've been outside, it's best to wash exposed skin areas with soap and COLD water. You can also use a commercial cleansing product such as TECNU. Never burn poison ivy on a brush fire since inhaling the smoke can cause serious lung problems. Another thing to remember is that just because poison ivy vines look dormant or dead, doesn't mean the oil in the stems and roots can't give you a bad case of skin rash. And finally, even though poison ivy has excellent fall leaf color, it's definitely not a cutting to bring into the house for a fall foliage centerpiece!
POISON IVY

Watch for 3 LEAVES on this plant for identification. If contacted, wash the toxic oil from your skin with soap and COLD water, or use a product we've tried called TECNU

Poison Ivy vines climb up tree trunks and may appear at eye level or much higher. To be on the safe side, take note of any tree trunks with vines on them. Older poison ivy vines tend to have a "hairy" look. NEVER burn poison ivy -- you can inhale the toxic oil from the smoke causing serious medical problems! Vines and roots are toxic even without leaves in dormancy during winter!

LINKS
Animal Poison Control Center Cornell University Poisonous Plants Informational Database Humane Society - Common Poisonous Plants Plants Poisonous to Livestock Poisonous Plants Wild Mushrooms and Poisoning

POISONOUS PLANTS